What to Do with Fiber Slush
My Fiber Slush after teaching
My fiber slush after teaching

Fiber slush is what I call all of the leftovers from spinning, the bits or lengths of unspun fiber that I can’t bring myself to just throw away.

Using fiber slush is a great opportunity to just play with fiber. It’s not fiber I’ve bought with anything specific in mind, so what I use it for is to stretch my creative spinning and color muscles.

I use it to make batts. Fiber slush is the perfect stuff to make heathered or tweed batts.

I use it on my blending board. Small bits of special shiny fibers really stand out in rolags and mini batts.

I use it to make oddball yarns, just grab fiber randomly and spin. Have you peeked in a yarn shop lately? Mishmash or patchwork yarns are very popular, and all they are are randomly marled yarns.

I use it to practice techniques, art yarn techniques, or worsted lace weight, I’m more likely to practice when the fiber I’m using isn’t something I might be saving for a project.

I use it to think about color, complete with notes, tags and samples in baggies. I feel freer somehow combining colors when they are smaller bits, I see combinations differently. I draft colors together, combine in plies, or just make my own patterned yarn.

What do you do with your fiber slush?

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Jillian is the​ author of the best-selling spinning book Yarnitecture. She is the editor​ of Knittyspin and Developmental Editor for PLY and PLY Books. She kinda loves this spinning thing and wants everyone who spins to love it too, so she teaches and writes a lot. She knits, weaves, and stitches and tries to do as much of it as she can with handspun yarn. She's always cooking up all kinds of exciting and creative things combining fiber arts. She likes her mysteries British, her walks woodsy, and to spend as much time as she can laughing. Spy on her on her website jillianmoreno.com

4 thoughts on “What to Do with Fiber Slush”

  1. Danee a

    Most of what I have is wool or alpaca. Scrap yarn, scrap roving, moth eaten yarn/unsaveable projects– it all becomes dryer balls. One day I will take these and stitch the into a rug when they get too compressed to use. For now the “thunk thunk” in the dryer works enough for me.

  2. Louise

    I keep a bag of all the fluff left over from project spins, also what’s left on the drum carder. When I’ve got a fair amount I run this through the carder and spin what I call my “monster mash”. It’s fun and all sorts of colours I wouldn’t normally blend or pair together. It gets me back on track at the wheel before a project spin if I’ve not spun for a while.

  3. DONNA

    thank you for lovely fiber slush from this weekend’s class. as i bagged it up, i thought about spinning it just as you suggest, now for sure i’ll do do between bigger spins.

  4. DONNA

    thank you for lovely fiber slush from this weekend’s class. as i bagged it up, i thought about spinning it just as you suggest, now for sure i’ll do itfor a break between bigger spins.

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